Tag Archives: Andrew Cuomo

Governor Andrew Cuomo is lifting the burden that Sandy placed upon students struggling to pay off school loans, allowing storm victims a grace period to get back on their feet.

“We are working to provide New Yorkers recovering from Sandy with as much relief and support as possible,” said the governor.

Cuomo directed the New York State Higher Education Services (HESC) to grant temporary loan relief to the students living in areas devastated by the storm, allowing them a 90-day grace period.

“Anyone in the declared disaster areas having difficulty at this time, we want to help them,” said Kathy Crowder, HESC spokesperson. “If they cannot pay or are having stress in trying to make those bills at this time, we don’t want this to be an additional burden.”

Halting student loans for these three months will only extend the length of payment, not the monthly dollar amount. However, because additional time will be added, interest on payments will continue to accrue, according to Crowder.

If requested, students in Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Rockland Suffolk and Westchester are eligible. The grace period started October 27 and runs through January 25, 2013. All members of the military who have been called to help in Sandy’s aftermath will also be eligible.

To begin the process of a temporary suspension of student loans, call 1-866-991-HESC (4372) or email dept736@hesc.nyc.gov.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48. Breezy, with a northwest wind 17 to 20 mph. Thursday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37. Northwest wind 11 to 16 mph.

Event of the Day: Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave

Devil Science Theater 3000 is an interactive event where the audience plays drinking games and makes fun of terrible movies while being egged on by professional comedians in the crowd. Find our more or view more events

In the end, disgraced St. John’s University dean Cecilia Chang chose death over a life of dishonor — even at one point rejecting a sweet plea deal of two to six years in a so-called Club Fed prison, the Daily News has learned. Read more: Daily News

Office of Emergency Management boss Steven Kuhr was fired after allegedly sending workers to clear a tree in his Long Island driveway as other victims of the storm suffered, sources said yesterday. Read more: NY Post

Nor’easter brings snow, surges to storm-shocked city

A nor’easter brought heavy wind gusts and a snow Wednesday to a city trying to recover from last week’s superstorm, and coastal communities in the five boroughs were forced to endure another round of storm surges. Read more: NY1

Councilman James Sanders rips LIPA over Rockaway power outage

As tensions mount on a powerless Rockaway peninsula, the barbs being tossed at the Long Island Power Authority are becoming harsher with each passing day. City Councilman and soon-to-be state Sen. James Sanders Jr. blasted the utility on Wednesday and its top executive Michael Hervey after Sanders was told many of LIPA’s customers in Queens could be without power for up to three more weeks. Read more: Daily News

New York AG goes after post-Sandy price gougers

The state attorney general yesterday slapped a subpoena on Craigslist, demanding that the popular Web site identify sellers who jacked up prices on post-Sandy gas, generators and other supplies, The Post has learned. Read more: NY Post

Ex-con who shot Nassau County cop and motorist dead should be thrown in prison for the rest of his life: prosecutors

The Queens ex-con who gunned down a Nassau County cop and a motorist near Belmont Park to avoid returning to prison should spend the rest of his life behind bars, prosecutors said Wednesday as the alleged triggerman was indicated for murder, robbery and weapons possession. Read more: Daily News

The city saw a significant drop in several categories of major crime – but a slight uptick in reported burglaries – with the onslaught of Superstorm Sandy. Murders citywide dropped 86% from Monday, when the hurricane hit, to Friday, compared with the same time frame in 2011, NYPD statistics show.NYDailyNews

Cuomo says subway service will not be normal on Monday

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bloomberg, Sen. Chuck Schumer, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, and other city and state officials huddled together for a press conference updating New Yorkers on the latest Hurricane Sandy response plans inside the Governor’s NYC Office in Manhattan. Cuomo had some sobering words about what the state of the subways would be like tomorrow: “Service will not be normal tomorrow,” he said. “Volume will be way up, schools will be open, and because of the gas problem, many more people will be on mass transit.” Gothamist

Queens residents arm themselves from looters

When night falls in the Rockaways, the hoods come out. Ever since Sandy strafed the Queens peninsula and tore up the boardwalk, it’s become an often lawless place where cops are even scarcer than electrical power and food. Locals say they are arming themselves with guns, baseball bats, booby traps — even a bow and arrow — to defend against looters. NYDailyNews

Thursday: A slight chance of showers after 3pm. Cloudy, with a high near 56. West wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Thursday night: A slight chance of showers before 10pm. Cloudy, with a low around 47. West wind 9 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Limited subway service returns this morning

Limited subway service will return to New York City tomorrow morning, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced. Fourteen lines will be providing partial service days after the system sustained the worst damage in its 108-year history. There is no indication as of yet what lines or stops will be in service. There will be no subway service between 34th St in Midtown and Downtown Brooklyn. Read more: Queens Courier

Mayor mandates car passenger minimums in Manhattan

Cars with less than three passengers will be virtually barred from entering Manhattan, Mayor Bloomberg announced today, in a desperate bid to relief gridlocked city streets. This post-Hurricane Sandy rule will be enforced from 6 a.m. to midnight tomorrow and Friday. Read more: NY Post

Old Howard Beach residents wonder why they weren’t evacuated

As the flood waters from Hurricane Sandy ebb back in to Jamaica Bay, some are questioning why residents of Howard Beach were not evacuated. Howard Beach lies on the edge of Evacuation Zone A, which, for Queens, includes the Rockaways, parts of Long Island City, Broad Channel and nearby Hamilton Beach. Read more: Queens Courier

Bellevue Hospital evacuating patients after power outage

Bellevue Hospital began evacuating hundreds of patients Wednesday after fuel pumps swamped by 17 million gallons of water from superstorm Sandy conked out, putting backup generators in peril. The decision to clear out capped two challenging days at the city’s flagship public hospital — where lights flickered, elevators shut down, plumbing failed and the National Guard had to man a bucket brigade. Read more: Daily News

Prominent Queens attorney and philanthropist John G. Nicholas dies at age 79

John G. Nicholas, a prominent Queens lawyer and philanthropist, died on Oct. 15. He was 79. His family said the cause of death was heart failure. “He was a true humanitarian and he placed his faith in people,” said his son Charles Nicholas, 51, an attorney from Syosset, L.I. “He was a defender of the oppressed.” Read more: Daily News

Governor Andrew Cuomo sent a letter to President Barack Obama requesting a maximum reimbursement from the federal government for damage suffered during Hurricane Sandy.

“Our counties are responding to the continued impacts of multi-building fires, tunnel closures, power losses to hospitals and other critical infrastructure, destroyed homes and sheltered populations — all in the midst of historic flooding that has complicated emergency response operations exponentially,” Cuomo wrote.

Cuomo said that the damage from Hurricane Sandy warrants the the maximum assistance allowed from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Cuomo said the support is needed in the continuing efforts to restore the state following Sandy’s devastation.

Businesses are estimated to have lost $6 billion in revenue due to the storm, the letter stated.

During the primary race for Senate District 15 this summer, now-Republican nominee and Councilmember Eric Ulrich picked up a major endorsement from former Governor George Pataki.

This fall, State Senator Joseph Addabbo, running for his third term, has seen Ulrich’s bet and raised him an incumbent.

Governor Andrew Cuomo endorsed Addabbo on Monday, October 8 at the outset of the Columbus Day Parade in Manhattan.

In his endorsement, Cuomo noted that Addabbo, and the legislature, had been productive in voting on tough issues, and in the end, he said, made the correct decision when voting.

“Now, a number of elected officials are in difficult elections, I believe, in part, because of votes they took,” Cuomo said.

The first-term governor added that Addabbo had “political courage” to stand up for issues and the people he represented.

“And I want his constituents to know today that he is a man of conscience, he is a man of integrity, he is a man of courage, and that’s what you want in an elected official — especially in Albany,” he said.

Addabbo said of the endorsement that he looked forward to continuing to work with Cuomo in Albany for another two years and work toward the number of problems facing the state.

“I look forward to continue working with Governor Cuomo to improve educational opportunities, create jobs, fight for stronger gun control, and once again be proud of our state government,” Addabbo said.

The candidates are set for several debates with less than a month until voters — from Maspeth all the way to Rockaway — cast their ballot on November 6 to see if Addabbo goes back to Albany in December, or if Ulrich will be taking the Taconic to work.

Booze, cruise and lose. New York is cracking down on intoxicated drivers.

Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo introduced an initiative to remove drivers with repeat alcohol or drug-related driving convictions from New York’s roads.

According to Cuomo, these more rigid regulations, enforced by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), will make the state among the toughest in the nation against drivers who persistently get behind the wheel while intoxicated.

“We are saying ‘enough is enough’ to those who have chronically abused their driving privileges and threatened the safety of other drivers, passengers and pedestrians,” said Cuomo. “This comprehensive effort will make New York safer by keeping these drivers off our roadways.”

Every year, more than 300 people are killed and 6,000 injured on roads throughout the state as a result of drunk driving.

Over the past few years, the percentage of crashes resulting in an injury where the driver had three or more alcohol related convictions has increased, spiking from 22 percent in 2005 to 28 percent in 2010.

Current law dictates that individuals with multiple DUI offenses cannot permanently lose their licenses. Under New York State law, the only scenario where a license could be indefinitely removed is if they have two alcohol or drug related convictions stemming from crashes that resulted in physical injury or death.

Under the new regulations, the DMV will deny applications for reinstatement of a license if the applicant has five or more alcohol or drug-related driving convictions during his or her lifetime or three or more alcohol or drug-related driving convictions in the last 25 years as well as one other serious driving offense during that period. Serious driving offenses include a fatal crash, accumulating 20 or more violation points within the last 25 years, or having two or more driving convictions each worth five or more points.

“It’s a tough state to have a DUI arrest,” said Berliner. “There’s not a lot of flexibility with the district attorney’s office and this is going to make it worse.”

According to Berliner, penalties for drinking and driving vary depending on the county in which the arrest occurs and the perpetrator’s blood alcohol level during the police-administered Breathalyzer exam.

In Queens, if a first-offending individual’s blood alcohol level is relatively close to .08 — the legal limit in New York State — they have an increased chance of getting the misdemeanor infraction of impaired. Logging a blood alcohol level over .18 is known as aggravated and results in harsher consequences.

Berliner said she understood why there are constant efforts to increase the severity of the penalty for drinking and driving. However, the attorney was not completely convinced that the law will keep people from operating a car while intoxicated.

“I don’t think it’s going to affect a huge number of people but it just keeps increasing the negative penalties for a person who gets caught driving under the influence,” said Berliner. “It’s better to get people the help they need before they get to that point.”

Established and potential small business owners filled the auditorium of the Flushing Library with pens and paper in hand (and a few laptops), ready to jot down information on ways to help their small businesses.

Around 250 people attended the August 22 event, which was the last in a series of small business forums that have been held throughout the state since early April.

“This program is all about creating jobs because when small businesses do well, New York does well,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo when the initiative was announced. “It’s so important for us to get out of the office and go into communities to see how we can help anyone who wants to start, grow or improve a business and that’s what this program will do.”

At the forum, representatives from the New York Departments of State, Labor, Taxation and Finance as well as Empire State Development, the State Liquor Authority and the Workers Compensation Board each gave a short presentation. Afterwards, attendees were able to ask the speakers questions.

“What [attendees] should take away from this presentation tonight is that we have resources and services that are available to you free of charge,” said New York State Deputy Secretary for Civil Rights Alphonso David, who introduced the night’s speakers.

In addition to small business grants, programs and online resources, the forum also included important information on laws and taxes that could cost small business owners money or even shut down their businesses.

Though the information discussed is easily available online, for several reasons, people might not know about it because they have limited resources, don’t have time to look online or are recent immigrants and have language barriers, said David.

Home to a large number of small businesses and immigrants, Queens, particularly Flushing, was an appropriate place to end the state’s small businesses forums, he said.

“There’s a large group of people here in Queens that operate small businesses and may not be aware of the services that we have to offer.”

Marc Fox of Fresh Meadows attended the forum because he is considering opening a small business in Queens. After working in the music industry for years, he would like open a music center that has rehearsal space and a store and gives lessons.

He was particularly interested in learning more about grants that could help him start his business, but was disappointed.

“The free money doesn’t sound so free,” he said.

But Fox liked that there are programs in place to help people like him. Although the information can be found online, he said, it was much easier hearing it laid out all at once.

Information for NY state small business owners can be found at www.NYOpenforSmallBusiness.com or www.thenewny.com.

A senior housing development currently under construction needs more funding to fix its failing façade.

Senator Joseph Addabbo and Assemblymember Phil Goldfeder recently sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo asking him for an additional $500,000 from the Port Authority’s Regional Funds Account to repair the Senior Housing Development in Howard Beach.

The project, which is being developed by Catholic Charities Progress of Peoples Development Corporation (CCPOP), the affordable housing development division of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens (CCBQ), has received millions in funding and grants, but the cost to fix the façade and rooftop parapet are much higher than originally anticipated.

“There was a lot of façade work that was done improperly in the original construction and they didn’t use the proper ties to place the brick structure,” said Monsignor Alfred LoPinto, Vicar for Human Services for CCBQ. “This is such an important project and at this point we’re just hoping to ensure that the building we developed will be secure and water tight, so we do not run into problems in the future that will be much more costly.”

“Thanks to Monsignor LoPinto and the great team at Catholic Charities the budget for this project has been stretched thin but unexpected damage to the facade needs to be corrected immediately in order to ensure quality senior housing,” said Goldfeder.

Located at 155-55 Cross Bay Boulevard, construction on the housing development began this January and is expected to finish at the end of 2014.

The structure was built in the 1960s as a hospital. Later it was used as the Bernard Fineson Developmental Disabilities Senior Office and in the 1980s a one-story addition was constructed, making it four stories.

According to the CCBQ, the renovated building will feature easy access for seniors, beautified grounds, a community room and several green elements in the apartments, including Energy Star air conditioning units and appliances.

At least 80 percent of the 96 units will be studio or one-bedroom apartments for low-to-moderate income senior citizens over the age of 60. The remaining units will be one-to-two bedroom apartments reserved for individuals supported by the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. Fifty percent of the senior apartments are earmarked for Community Board 10 residents, according to the board’s chair Elizabeth Braton.

“Additional funding is desirable because the building is going to serve a population that needs to be served,” she said. “I applaud this request.”

It’s natural that issues like the façade damage are going to pop up when working on an older building, Braton added, and if additional money is needed, then the state should certainly play a role, she said.

In December 2011 CCBQ secured $31 million in funding with a construction loan from JPMorgan Chase and federal and state low-income housing tax credit equity purchased by Morgan Stanley through syndicator Hudson Housing Capital.

Additionally, CCBQ received about $11 million in grant awards from the Housing Trust Fund Corporation, New York State Housing Finance Agency, City Housing Preservation and Development Agency, City Capital Funding, Federal Home Loan Bank of New York and a HOME block grant, as well as $3.5 million in discretionary funding from City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Borough President Helen Marshall and Councilmember Eric Ulrich.

When Governor David Paterson was in office, local elected officials sent him a letter requesting funds for soundproofing the building against nearby JFK airplane noise. But a decision about the request wasn’t reached before Paterson left office. The money is still available.

If granted, the $500,000 would go towards covering the façade repairs and soundproofing, said Goldfeder. He anticipates that they will need to request more money, possibly from other places, to help cover the project’s construction because of more unexpected costs.

As students, parents and educators gear up for the new school year, elected officials are tackling the growing problem of cyberbullying.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation last month that is designed to shed light on the hazards of cyberbullying and require educators to respond to such attacks as soon as they happen.

State Senator Joseph Addabbo is applauding the move. He told The Courier that the new bill expands the definition of harassment to include cyberbullying – a form of online behavior that has become both prevalent and sometimes deadly.

“Bullying used to be a push or shove, taunting. Now it’s the push of a button,” Addabbo said. “With the click of a button, thousands, if not more, are notified of a particular nasty message.”

Even though the bill does not go into effect until July 2013, lawmakers and proponents of anti-cyberbullying will be visiting area schools this year to talk about the issue and how to address it.

“Now that the governor signed this piece of legislation we need to make sure that all schools are aware of this bill and it is implemented in a correct manner,” Addabbo said.

Jamie Isaacs, a 16-year-old girl from Long Island who had been bullied her whole life, and the president of the Jamie Isaacs Foundation for Anti-Bullying, will also be visiting schools in Queens to discuss the effects of cyberbullying.

Isaacs said she was bullied from the end of second grade until seventh grade, when she ultimately had to switch from public school to private school. She said a group of 22 students tormented her for years – physically assaulting her, destroying and stealing her property and calling her names. The harassment followed through to the Internet, where Isaacs had to change her screen name multiple times to avoid constant messages of hate.

“My parents were frequently going to the principal’s office and the school district office begging for them to do something and they refused,” Isaacs said. “District heads said, ‘They’re just being kids they’ll grow out of it.’ The school was completely negligent.”

Isaacs said she is glad to see the new law being passed because it forces educators to deal with cyberbullying.

Addabbo said that cyberbullying has become a growing issue thanks to the increase of accessibility to technology, and the results can sometimes be deadly.

He noted how research has revealed a link between cyberbullying and low self-esteem, as well as long-term consequences that include increased depression, substance use and occasionally suicide.

Addabbo said the new bill should also make parents aware. He said there are different signs of behavior that parents should look out for, including physical abuse and mental abuse.

Maria Concolino, a Woodhaven resident who has children who go to a Jamaica public school, said students have become desensitized to the harsh realities of bullying, especially with the increase of bullying on the Internet.

“If they see someone killing someone on the Internet, then when they do something like bullying and calling them names they think, ‘Well, I’m not killing them,’ ” she said. “It’s making kids numb. They don’t have that line of reality. That line is very blurred.”

With the state ranking near the bottom in voter registration, the governor announced a new initiative to allow online registration.

Residents can now log on to their computers to register to vote change their address or update party enrollment.

“We are knocking down longstanding barriers that have prevented many New Yorkers from participating in the democratic process, while creating a more streamlined and more efficient system that will save taxpayers’ money,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Less than 64 percent of eligible voters are registered, ranking New York 47th in the nation.

I introduced a bill last year, which Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law, prohibiting the distribution of obscene, business-card-sized ads for prostitutes. These so-called “chica” cards, which have been handed out along Roosevelt Avenue and adjacent streets for many years, feature promises of “free delivery.”

After a press conference at which I unveiled my chica cards bill, the problem drew attention. The cards were the subject of some jokes.

And it turned out that one of the cards we enlarged and displayed at the press conference pictured an international supermodel.

The harsh reality, however, is that there is absolutely nothing funny, or glamorous, about prostitution.

The fact is, many women from around the world and across the country are brought here — to New York, to Roosevelt Avenue — and are enslaved, forced to have sex with strangers for the profit of human traffickers and pimps.

We have to dispel the dangerous notion that prostitution is a victimless crime.

And we do that with information and by raising awareness. Someone aware of the brutal truth is less likely to participate in the continued exploitation of these women.

And that’s the point of the public awareness campaign I am launching. I put it together in conjunction with the mayor’s office and Restore NYC, a non-profit that provides aftercare services to sex-trafficking victims and operates a safe house in Queens. The campaign consists of getting posters into storefront windows and informational, palm-sized pamphlets into people’s hands along Roosevelt Avenue and neighboring streets, areas where many of the women trafficked into New York are prostituted.

Again, someone who understands what these women are really going through is less likely to participate in their brutal exploitation.

As Faith Huckel, co-founder of Restore NYC observes, “sex trafficking is one of the most violent humanitarian issues of our day. To call it anything less is to disregard the trauma, rape and abuse experienced on the part of the victim.”

Traffickers prey on the poor and vulnerable. They use promises of a good job or a false marriage proposal to lure victims. Other victims are kidnapped or sold into the sex trade by parents, husbands or boyfriends. Many of these women are being abused and exploited in public and private locations in our very own communities, including Jackson Heights, Corona and Flushing.

We must seek justice for trafficked women. To that end I have also I introduced a bill in the New York State Senate to reclassify sex trafficking as a violent felony and increase the minimum jail sentence to five years. The minimum sentence currently is one to three years.

Classifying sex trafficking as a violent felony not only raises the minimum sentence for a first offense, it can put someone that commits multiple violent offenses away for life under the persistent violent offender law.

By raising awareness and imposing penalties commensurate with the brutality inherent in sex trafficking, I hope that we can put at least some traffickers and pimps out of business and keep them from destroying more lives.

Senator Peralta is the Ranking Democrat on the Labor Committee and also serves as a member of the Finance, Investigations and Insurance Committees.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced that New York state employers will see a reduction in workers’ compensation premium rates for the first time in four years.

Policyholders will see a decrease of 1.2 percent, the first reduction since 2008.

The rate reduction is a result of efforts by the governor’s administration over the past 18 months to modernize, improve efficiency and decrease waste in the workers’ compensation system.

“For years, the workers’ compensation system has been too costly for businesses and ineffective for injured workers,” said Cuomo. “With the new measures implemented by the state, and our continued work together with the business and labor communities, we will remain on track to create a system that works better for both employers and employees.”

Originally, the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board recommended a cost increase in their annual loss cost filing. However, after reviewing all the filings and written submissions, the board determined to cut costs.

Benjamin M. Lawsky, superintendent of financial services, believes Cuomo is leading New York in the right direction for all businesses, both large and small, throughout the state.

“This is the right decision on rates at the right time,” said Lawsky.

Cuomo also announced that the last measures of the 2007 Workers’ Compensation Reform Law, which secured necessary benefit increases for injured workers and cost reductions for businesses, have now been fully implemented by the state. The Workers’ Compensation Board will now focus on creating a new set of guidelines to help modernize its systems with technology and to continue reducing waste and abuse in the system.

“The cost of workers’ compensation coverage remains a significant competitiveness issue for New York State business,” said Heather Briccetti, CEO of the New York State Business Council. “We look forward to working with the administration and other stakeholders on next steps in improving the system.”

New regulations will help crack down on the rapidly expanding synthetic drug industry, the governor announced on Tuesday.

“The actions we are announcing today attack the problem by helping our law enforcement officers enforce the rules, expanding the list of banned substances used to manufacture bath salts and imposing tougher penalties so those who sell these drugs are held accountable,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

The state’s Department of Health expanded its list of prohibited drugs and chemicals to include dozens of more substances used to make synthetic drugs. Penalties were also stiffened allowing store owner selling the substances to be charged with possession of an illicit substance and face time behind bars.

Distributors of the drug were skirting laws by tweaking the drug’s ingredients to avoid substances banned by the state’s controlled substances laws.

These “designer drugs” include bath salts and synthetic marijuana sold under names such as White Lightning, Tranquility, Zoom and Blaze.

In June and July, there were 120 emergency room visits as a result of bath salts after just 39 all of 2011, the governor said. More than 300 calls were made to the state’s Poison Control Center in the year’s first six months after only 20 in 2010, the center said.

A hot line was also set up for residents to report establishments selling the illegal substances.

Stiffer federal laws were put into place recently, but the governor said local law enforcement officials for will be able to pursue perpetrators under state laws for the first time.

Bayside teen Elana Campane is considering getting her belly button pierced. She hasn’t told her parents yet, and she’s not sure that they will approve of a piercing that’s not in her ears.

For now, the 17-year-old doesn’t need their permission, but she will in a few months when New York becomes the 32nd state to make it illegal for minors to get a body piercing without parental consent.

Luckily, said Campane, she will turn 18 at the end of December.

The new law, which Governor Andrew Cuomo signed on Tuesday, July 31, requires anyone under 18 years old to obtain written consent by a parent or guardian before getting a piercing on any part of the body except for the ear.

“Body piercings can pose a significant health risk if not cared for properly,” said Assemblymember Michael Simanowitz, who co-sponsored the bill. “This will now ensure that parents are aware of their son or daughter’s intent to receive a body piercing which will hopefully prevent complications such as allergic reactions, skin infections or scarring.”

According to the governor’s office, about 20 percent of all body piercings result in infection.

After reading an article about the risks of body piercing, Simanowitz discovered that although it is illegal to tattoo anyone under 18 without parental permission, there was no minimum age requirement for body piercings.

“My children’s school can’t give my 14-year-old a Tylenol without permission, but he can walk into a store and get a body piercing,” said Simanowitz.

A minor will assess the risk of a body piercing differently than an adult, he added.

Piercing studios will need to check the identification of those suspected of being underage, and the owner or body piercing specialist must be present when a parental consent form is signed. The state health department will oversee the new law.

But it’s already common practice for some body piercing places to card potential minors and require signed consent, said Juan Orellana, co-owner of Skin Konviction, a tattoo and body piercing studio in Flushing.